JOSE MOURINHO has never been far from controversy throughout his career.
He still regards himself as Chelsea’s Special One but is now on to the 12th managerial job of his career at Benfica.
His most successful spells came at Chelsea[/caption]
Mourinho has won silverware at almost every club he has managed[/caption]
It marks a return for where it all started for Mourinho – before all the silverware, the barbs and the controversy.
The Portuguese has forged rivalries with opposition managers and match officials over the years, with the former head of Uefa‘s referees committee Volker Roth once calling him an “enemy of football“.
Mourinho has never shied away from launching his own insults, often to the detriment of his club or own career.
Ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge, SunSport takes a look at the Special One’s most controversial moments.
Touchline antics
Mourinho first grabbed the headlines in 2004 when he ran down the touchline celebrating a goal at Old Trafford when in charge of Porto.
It became somewhat of a staple of his career, with Mourinho again taking off on a sprint ten years later when a Demba Ba goal took Chelsea into the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain.
Rather fittingly, his 1000th game as manager sparked another run, with Mourinho chasing down his Roma stars following a late winner over Sassuolo.
But his passion has occasionally taken over in different ways, with Mourinho clashing on the touchline with opposition coaches and fourth officials.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
On a previous return to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United he had to be restrained by his own backroom staff.
He was wound up by Chelsea coach Marca Ianni, who celebrated a late equaliser in front of him by the dugouts.
Stewards, Phil Neville, and other Red Devils staff members had to hold him back as he tried to race down the tunnel to confront the Italian.
Afterwards, Ianni and then Blues boss Maurizio Sarri offered their apologies.
He famously ran down the touchline at Old Trafford as his Porto side beat Man Utd[/caption]
Wenger rivalry
Mourinho first sniped back at Arsene Wenger during his second season at Chelsea, having grown tired of the former Arsenal boss speaking about his side.
He hit out at the Frenchman in a now infamous rant, stating of Wenger: “Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur.
“He is someone who likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families.
“Wenger must be one of them – it is a sickness. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea.”
Wenger responded by calling Mourinho “stupid”, and claimed he was “disconnected with reality”.
The pair continued to trade jibes even when Mourinho left England, with the Portuguese aiming a dig at Wenger in 2008, when Inter Milan boss.
He said: “The English like statistics a lot. Do they know that Arsene Wenger has only 50 per cent of wins in the English league?”
Mourinho and Arsene Wenger butted heads for years[/caption]
But perhaps his biggest attack came when he returned to Chelsea, labelling Wenger a “specialist in failure”.
Mourinho said: “Am I afraid of failure? He is a specialist in failure. I’m not.
“So if one supposes he’s right and I’m afraid of failure, it’s because I don’t fail many times. So maybe he’s right. I’m not used to failing.
“But the reality is he’s a specialist because, eight years without a piece of silverware, that’s failure.”
That comment saw things come to a head when Wenger shoved Mourinho during a match in October 2014.
Wenger admitted he felt provoked by Mourinho, and the pair failed to shake hands during their next meeting in the Community Shield.
The pair clashed on the touchline during Jose’s second spell at Stamford Bridge[/caption]
“Respect”
During a press conference in the 2018-19 season, Mourinho took exception to journalists’ questions following a 3-0 defeat while in charge of United.
Holding up three fingers, Mourinho said: “What was the result? 3-0? You know what this means? 3-0.
“It also means three Premierships, and I’ve won more Premierships alone than the other 19 managers together. Three for me, and two for them.”
He then got out of seat, gesturing to the media to calm down with the palm of his hand, before repeatedly saying “respect, respect man”.
Mourinho called for ‘respect’ as he reminded the press of his title winning credentials[/caption]
Eva Carneiro row
In his second stint as Chelsea boss Mourinho was investigated by the FA over a complaint he used abusive or sexist language towards team doctor Eva Carneiro.
It was claimed he screamed “son of a b****” during a touchline row with the medic.
Mourinho became incensed after Dr Carneiro entered the field of play to treat Eden Hazard in a clash against Swansea, with the Belgian then forced to leave the pitch momentarily.
Chelsea were already down to ten men at the time following Thibaut Courtois‘ sending off, and Mourinho felt Hazard’s momentary loss made them more vulnerable.
He fumed after the match: “Even if you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game.
“You have to know you have one player less and when you go to the pitch to assist a player, you have to make sure your player has a serious injury. I was sure he hadn’t a serious problem.
“He had a knock, he was very tired. But my medical department – on an impulse – was naive and left me with eight outfield players in a counter-attack after a set piece.”
Dr Carneiro was demoted as a result of the incident and later filed for unfair dismissal, settling her case against Chelsea on confidential terms.
Chelsea said it apologised “unreservedly” to the former first team doctor for the distress caused.
Mourinho was investigated following a spat with team doctor Eva Carneiro[/caption]
Hiding in a laundry basket
In his first season in the Prem at Chelsea, Mourinho was handed a touchline ban for the Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich.
But there was no way he was going to let that get in the way of entering the dressing room to talk to his team.
He told Sky Sports years later: “I go to the dressing room during the day so I was there from midday and the game is seven o’clock. I just want to be in the dressing room when the players arrive.
“I went there and nobody saw me. The problem was to leave after. And Stewart Bannister the kit man put me in the basket. It was a little bit open so I could breathe.
“But when he is taking it outside the dressing room, the Uefa guys were following and desperate to find me so he closed the box and I couldn’t breathe.
“When he opened the box I was dying! I am serious! I was claustrophobic, I promise! It’s true.”
Eye-poke
During his Real Madrid years Mourinho was especially spiky.
And it was fierce rivals Barcelona, who irked him the most, with things coming to a head in El Clasico.
After the game, Mourinho poked Pep Guardiola‘s then-assistant Tito Villanova in the eye in an unprovoked attack and wandered off.
Barcelona didn’t make an official complaint. However, the club said: “The public have given their opinion. They are very clear that what this person did wasn’t right. The (Spanish football) federation will act if they want to.”
They did, they gave Jose a two-game ban, which was later rescinded in a general amnesty on suspensions across Spanish football.
Mourinho apologised a year later and has always continued to express his sorrow for the incident.
Wearing a wire
The conspiracy theories were really getting to Mourinho during his spell at Roma.
He was convinced referees had it in for him during the 2022-2023 season, a campaign which saw him receive three red cards on the touchline.
So, in true Mourinho form, he did what he could to protect himself. He became an informant and wore a wire.
He revealed: “I’m not stupid, you know. Today, I went to the game with a microphone. I recorded everything. From the moment I left the locker room, to the moment I returned. I protected myself.”
